B. H. Roberts and Pragmatism. Part II on William James and Mormonism

(continued from Part I)

Brigham Henry Roberts (1857-1933), LDS general authority, historian, and theologian–twice nominated as “the most eminent intellectual in Mormon history”[1]–owned copies of at least five of James’s works: Psychology, Pragmatism, A Pluralistic Universe, The Meaning of Truth, and Some Problems of Philosophy. Of those books, Roberts first read Pragmatism, which he finished reading, as indicated by an inscription on the last page of Roberts’s personal copy of the book, on the morning of March 16, 1908. In July of that same year he purchased A Pluralistic Universe and in October, Psychology.[2] These five books are now housed as part of the B. H. Roberts Memorial Library in the archives of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City, Utah. Due to Roberts’s habit of writing in the margins of his books, an examination of the collection can be revealing of how he read, particularly where he saw resonance with Mormon thought and where he parted ways with certain ideas.

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Frontier Women FRAMED!

As my final act as guest poster, I’m offering another selection from my GEA collection paper about how these compositions were framed (thought a sensational post title might attract a few more readers ;-).

I look forward to joining you more permanently at the end of March! Thanks for the invite future fellow Instructors!

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Announcing the First Juvenile Instructoress

We’ve heard rumors that other blogs have been conspiring to nab Heidi, our latest guest blogger, to be a permablogger elsewhere. Not to burst anyone’s bubble, but such conspiracies are bound to fail. Heidi has accepted our invitation to stay with us as, in her words, the “first Juvenile Instructoress.” Unfortunately, she has made some kind of strange pact for Lent about giving up blogging, and so we must wait until March 22 for her to start as an official permablogger (although she assures us that she will finish out her guest stint). But regardless, we wanted to let everyone know and begin the congratulations process.

The Making of Nobody Knows: The Untold Story of Black Mormons, Part 1

Margaret Young has graciously agreed to provide us a multi-part commentary on the making of the film, Nobody Knows: The Untold Story of Black Mormons. She needs little introduction, as she has blogged at various sites, including Times and Seasons, Mormon Mentality, and By Common Consent. She is, in a word, prolific.

Journal: Nobody Knows: The Untold Story of Black Mormons
Margaret Young
Next showing (and the only screening currently scheduled in Utah):
Saturday March 8th at 11:00 a.m.
Egyptian Theater, Ogden
Part of the Foursite Film Festival (www.foursitefilmfest.com ).

David Grua suggested I detail the miraculous way this documentary came to be. This particular post will sim

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Education, Homemaking, and Gender-Bending through Props: More Photos from the GEA Collection

The props coal county women chose to include in their valuable portraits reveal deepening layers of their concept of gender and equality. The traveling tent studio could not afford the space to transport fashionable or particularly exceptional props to the mining towns. Subsequently, patrons often brought their own valuables, and thus their own values, to include in their framed lives as particularly cherished objects.

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Emerson–The Sequel!

Well now, Ben beat me to it. But, since I might have some interesting things to say in addition (and I have an admin logon this week bwahaha) I’m just going to make it a new post.

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Hats and Bicycles

This one goes out to Ardis 😉

And can I also say I’m glad these photos are intriguing people because they really are a hugely wonderful yet hugely untapped resource that only recently has become accessible (aka, not fragile glass plates in large cardboard boxes with no index).

Selection from my paper:

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The “New Woman” in Central Utah

As a historian I, of course, have some issues with historians. My main bugaboo this past year has been what I term “source prejudice.” We favor textual documents over visual, no doubt about it. What really gets me is that one of the main defenses for this has been that textual documents are more open and reliable, visual more obscure and relative. Well now, there are definitely interpretation issues within textual documents too; we still need to consider intention, audienc

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Welcome Heidi!

The Juvenile Instructor has come into a bit of luck recently in attracting solid and talented guest bloggers. That luck has not run out. We’re pleased to announce our latest guest, Heidi, known also as Pinto. Heidi received a BA in Humanities and History at BYU in 2006, and will graduate with a Masters in American Studies at Boston University this spring. I got to know Heidi this summer as part of the Joseph Smith Seminar with Richard Bushman and Terryl Givens (although we quickly discovered that she was that “Special Collections girl” [meaning she worked there] and I was “that guy with a shaved head always looking up Joseph Smith stuff” when we were undergrads at BYU). She tells me that s

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Thank you, BHodges

The Juvenile Instructor would like to thank BHodges for his contributions as a guest blogger the last week and a half.  His insights into the Journal of Discourses produced some great discussion, and we encourage everyone interested to keep up with his exploration of the JD over at his blog, Life on Gold Plates.  Please leave a comment helping us thank him for his contributions.  Thanks again, BHodges.